J.N. Coldstream has now fully updated his comprehensive survey with a substantial new chapter on the abundant discoveries and developments made since the book's first publication. The text is presented in three main sections: the passing of the dark ages, c.900–770 BC; the Greek renaissance, c.770–700 BC, covered region by region, and the final part on life in eighth century Greece. Its geographical coverage of the Mediterranean ranges from Syria to Sicily, and the detailed archaeological evidence is amplified by reference to literary sources. Highly illustrated, including images of several finds never previously published, this follows the first successful edition as the essential handbook for anyone studying early Greek antiquity.

This work deals with classical Greek pottery from a number of points of view - technique, period, place of production, function, shape, decoration and distribution. The book places an emphasis on the every-day uses of Greek pottery - as containers for water, wine, fish, honey and olives, for example - and does not treat it as art. The author explains the importance of clay as a fundamental natural resource in the lives of the ancient Greeks, stressing its versatility as a container in varying conditions of heat and cold. The book aims to offer a broad picture of Greek pottery that gives an idea of its variety and importance without dwelling too heavily upon the high-quality figured vases.

How remarkable changes in ancient Greek pottery reveal the transformation of classical Greek culture Why did soldiers stop fighting, athletes stop competing, and lovers stop having graphic sex in classical Greek art? The scenes depicted on Athenian pottery of the mid-fifth century BC are very different from those of the late sixth century. Did Greek potters have a different world to see—or did they come to see the world differently? In this lavishly illustrated and engagingly written book, Robin Osborne argues that these remarkable changes are the best evidence for the shifting nature of classical Greek culture. Osborne examines the thousands of surviving Athenian red-figure pots painted between 520 and 440 BC and describes the changing depictions of soldiers and athletes, drinking parties and religious occasions, sexual relations, and scenes of daily life. He shows that it was not changes in each activity that determined how the world was shown, but changes in values and aesthetics. By demonstrating that changes in artistic style involve choices about what aspects of the world we decide to represent as well as how to represent them, this book rewrites the history of Greek art. By showing that Greeks came to see the world differently over the span of less than a century, it reassesses the history of classical Greece and of Athenian democracy. And by questioning whether art reflects or produces social and political change, it provokes a fresh examination of the role of images in an ever-evolving world.

Greek Painted Pottery has been used by classics and classical archaeology students for some thirty years. It thoroughly examines all painted pottery styles from the Protogeometric to the Hellenistic period from all areas of Greece and from the colonies in parts of Italy. In each case it covers the development of iconography and the use of colour, decorative motifs and the distinctive styles of each stage. It examines the most utilitarian pottery objects as well as some of the finest pieces produced by a flourishing civilisation. Other chapters cover the pottery industry and pottery-making techniques, including firing, the types of local clay which were used and inscription. This study also considers how one can date pottery and establish a chronology and the various methods by which these artefacts have been classified, preserved and collected. This is the third edition of this classic text, which has been extensively revised and includes a fully updated bibliography. This edition also includes coverage of new evidence and new theories which have surfaced since the book was last revised in 1972. With over 100 black and white photographs and plentiful line drawings, the new edition of this comprehensive text will be invaluable to students studying classical art, archaeology and art history.

This volume reports on Athenian pottery found in the Athenian Agora up to 1960 that can be dated from about the middle of the 8th century B.C., when the appearance of a painter of sufficient personal distinction to enliven the whole craft marks a real break from the earlier Geometric style, through the third quarter of the 7th century B.C. when Protoattic gives way to black-figure and black wares. A sampling of contemporary imported ware is included. The material is treated first by shape and then, more extensively, by painting styles. Some 650 characteristic pieces are selected for cataloguing. The introduction discusses the development of the various shapes and styles, characterizing the special techniques and innovations of the period. The topographical features of the Agora that are indicated by the places of discovery of deposits of late Geometric and Protoattic pottery are summarized under wells, houses, workshops, sanctuaries, cemeteries, and roads.